Mosta 2
Obiefule 65 pen; Magro 90;
Qormi 0
Mosta had the last laugh in a tale of two penalties last night to beat Qormi and move within touching distance of salvation.
Kris Thackray failed to put away his penalty on 57 minutes, albeit the penalty award was controversial in itself, but a few minutes later Obinna Obiefule kept his nerve to strike Mosta’s spot-kick home and pave the way for an important victory as Kurt Magro sealed the issue just before the final whistle.
Stressing the importance for Mosta to continue with their good form, coach Steve D’Amato confirmed the same line-up that began the 5-1 victory over Marsaxlokk.
Joseph Farrugia’s ankle problem and suspension of Abubaker Bello-Osagie meant Qormi would be without two key players.
On the other hand, the inclusion of Kenneth Scicluna to fill the void of Bello-Osagie necessitated some positional switches with Thackray detailed to provide cover to the defence in a 4-1-4-1 formation.
While a relative lack of creativity might have been expected given the absentees, Farrugia’s replacement, Luke Sciberras, and Thackray should have infused more dynamism into the team’s play.
So, the sight of Qormi being outbattled in midfield early on was surprising given that Mosta were fielded in an experimental 3-3-3-1 formation which quickly turned into a 4-4-2 when the opposition got closer to their goal.
Qormi had the big chance to go ahead when keeper Jonathan Debono palmed away a swerving free-kick from Jorginho after 28 minutes.
The match lacked real quality as a spectacle as it descended into a dour midfield battle due to some rough tackles from both sides.
It seemed that only Jorginho was willing to take initiatives to raise the level of the game.
On 43 minutes, Sciberras made good progress on the right and centred for the Brazilian whose first-time volley ended just high.
The game crackled to life in the second half and three minutes after the restart Gilbert Martin did well to turn past Matthew Bartolo but saw his rising shot going over.
At the other end, Debono palmed Caruana’s free-kick over the bar.
Yet, the complexion of the game changed from the moment that Sciberras was given his marching orders for a wild tackle on Federico Tisbi.
But in a game of oscillating fortunes, three minutes later, referee Fyodor Zammit pointed to the spot when he decided Jorginho had been fouled by Tisbi, although contact was minimal. The Mosta fans felt justice was done when Debono did superbly to stop Thackray’s effort from the spot.
And eight minutes later, Qormi had to digest another unexpected change in fortunes when the referee pointed again to the spot at the other side of the pitch after Roderick Sammut clumsily clashed with Martin.
Obinna Obiefule ruthlessly punished Sammut’s mistake from the spot to make it 1-0 for Mosta.
Debono made another excellent save to deny Thackray after 77 minutes during that period when Mosta began to sit deeper to defend their slim lead.
Mosta, however, stood firm and could have doubled their lead when Jonathan Bajada pounced on a short clearance by Ranier Buhagiar but Matthew Farrugia leapt at Bajada’s feet to block his effort.
Renewed belief lifted Mosta and Magro capitalised on a mistake by substitute Stephen Wellman to steal possession and beat Farrugia with a rising shot into the angle.
Mosta
J. Debono-8, A. Borg-6, F. Tisbi-5, Y. Ossok-6.5, A. Cini-6, J. Bajada-6.5, K. Magro-6.5, P. Mirceta-5 (46 F. Raimy-6), D. Falzon-6 (90 F. Aboulezz), G. Martin-7 (90 I. Zammit), O. Obiefule-6.
Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, R. Sammut-4 (72 S. Wellman-5), K. Scicluna-6, M. Bartolo-5, J. Chetcuti-5 (81 R. Buhagiar), L. Sciberras, J. Bondin-4 (44 G. Chircop-6), Jorginho-7, T. Caruana-6, V. Kouadio-6, K. Thackray-6.5.
Referee: Fyodor Zammit.
Yellow cards: Mirceta, Sammut, Martin, Borg. Red card Sciberras (Qormi) 54.
Missed penalty: Thackray (Qormi) 57.
BOV player of the match: Jonathan Debono (Mosta).
Attendances: 1,093.